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Got High Blood Pressure? New Study Suggests You Might Benefit
From Adding More Low-fat Dairy To Your Diet
Sacramento, CA, May 12, 2005
- A new study suggests that increased intake of low-fat dairy
foods, as part of a DASH-based eating plan, may lower blood
pressure more effectively than a conventional low-fat diet
- a significant finding for the estimated one in three Americans
who suffer from high blood pressure.1,2
Published
this week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
researchers compared two diets - one based on the DASH eating
pattern and the other a typical low-fat diet - combined with
increased physical activity. The study found that for comparable
weight loss, the DASH-based diet resulted in a greater decrease
in blood pressure than did the low-fat diet.
The DASH
(Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan was
developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
(NHLBI) and is comprised of three daily servings of low-fat
dairy foods and eight to ten daily servings of fruits and
vegetables. The government recently highlighted the health
benefits of DASH by recommending the eating plan in the new
Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid, and NHLBI has designated
May as National Blood Pressure Education Month.
The study
participants, consisting of 54 middle-aged men with a body
mass index of about 30, were assigned to one of the two diets
for 12 weeks and engaged in similar levels of physical activity.
Both diet plans included low-fat or nonfat dairy foods, fruits
and vegetables, but at week 12, the DASH-based group reported
a higher intake of dairy foods (approximately four daily servings
compared to two and a half among the low-fat group). There
was no reported difference in fruit and vegetable intake between
the two diet groups.
The authors
speculate that a combination of factors such as lower sodium
and increased potassium, calcium, and magnesium - key nutrients
found in dairy - may be responsible for the greater effect
of the DASH-based diet on the obesity-related elevated blood
pressure. Potassium has long been seen as a key nutrient in
lowering blood pressure. Each 8-ounce serving of milk provides
about 350-400 mg of potassium, or 11 percent of the Daily
Value (DV) per serving. Fluid milk is the number one source
of potassium in the American diet and dairy foods provide
18 percent of the potassium in the U.S. food supply.
To learn
more about how you and your family can incorporate more dairy
into your everyday diets and for quick and easy milk and dairy
recipes visit www.mealsmatter.org.
#
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Dairy
Council of California develops nutrition education programs
that are easy to use and designed to be personally relevant
to each user. This customization allows consumers to make
decisions, considering their unique needs, resulting in healthy
food choices and contributing to optimal health. Healthy Eating
Made Easier.
- Nowson C, et al. Blood pressure change with weight loss
is affected by diet type in men. American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition. 2005; 81: 983-9.
- National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Facts
about high blood pressure. http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/mission/abouthbp/abouthbp.htm.
Accessed May 6, 2005.
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